Buffalo Nickel
We've looked and looked, and wondered why we haven't run across some Buffalo nickels.
The second weekend we went back to Crescent Beach we found two. They weren't very deep either. We recently found another one at Goddard State Park in the water, and another in the dry sand at Revere Beach.
We have over 50 of these Buffalo nickels now. Most found with no dates. Our earliest is a 1918, most of the others range between 1925 and 1936, the most common being 1936. We have two from 1937, but they are not the three-legged buffalo.
History
These pieces are known as Buffalo, Bison, or Indian Head nickels. In the first year of issue, 1913, there were two distinct varieties, the first showing the bison on a mound, and the second with the base redesigned to a thinner, straighter line. James E. Fraser designed this nickel employing three different Indians as models. His initial F is beneath the date.
The bison was modeled after Black Diamond in the New York Zoological Gardens.
Matte proof coins were made for collectors from 1913 to 1917. Minted from 1913-1938. The most valuable Buffalo is a 1937 3-legged.
Find more information about the 3 legged Buffalo nickel at:
Coinsite.com
Buffalo nickels weigh 5 grams and are made out of an alloy of 75% copper and 25% nickel.
Did You Know?
Even though these coins have more copper than nickel content ( 75% Cu and 25% Ni ), nickel acts as a bleach metal. This makes the coins appear white in color. They also use nickel to alloy with gold to produce white gold jewelry.